Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Reduces Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. decreased its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 345,038 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 22,180 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $108,273,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Imprint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Towne Trust Company N.A boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 34.0% in the 4th quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 134 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total value of $2,077,531.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.89, for a total transaction of $2,481,078.77. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 51,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,293,309.12. This trade represents a 14.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 193,016 shares of company stock worth $17,282,549 over the last 90 days. 12.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Pivotal Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $470.00 target price (up from $420.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Phillip Securities cut shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Truist Financial set a $430.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $376.78.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $358.16 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.34 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.22. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $357.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $329.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $163.33 and a 1-year high of $404.47.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $2.43. The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $106.96 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. Alphabet’s quarterly revenue was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.81 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.3 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. This is an increase from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.71%.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s drone-delivery unit Wing expanded into seven more U.S. cities with Walmart, reinforcing that its Other Bets can scale into real businesses and may be more valuable than the market gives them credit for.
• Positive Sentiment: Waymo launched a $29.99 monthly membership program, adding a recurring-revenue layer to its robotaxi business and highlighting rapid growth in paid rides, which investors may see as a meaningful long-term opportunity.
• Positive Sentiment: Several analyst and commentary pieces remain constructive on Alphabet’s AI, cloud, and search setup, with some calling it an AI powerhouse and lifting price targets, which supports the stock’s bullish narrative.
• Positive Sentiment: Google is also expanding its real-estate listings nationwide and continuing to deepen its AI infrastructure and chip strategy, reinforcing multiple growth avenues beyond search advertising.
• Neutral Sentiment: Google filed suit against an alleged Chinese cybercrime group that used AI to scam victims, a move that shows the company is actively defending its platforms, though the stock impact is likely limited unless the issue escalates.
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet declined a $2 billion U.S. quantum-computing funding program, saying the terms could slow development; that may be viewed as a strategic choice rather than a major financial event.
• Neutral Sentiment: News that some billionaire investors sold Alphabet in Q1 while others bought more adds to the debate, but it does not change the underlying business fundamentals by itself.
• Negative Sentiment: Some recent coverage continues to focus on worries about rising capital expenditures and AI monetization, which can pressure sentiment if investors fear Alphabet’s AI spending will take longer to pay off.
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet’s AI Overview feature has also faced renewed controversy, adding another small overhang around search quality and user trust.

Alphabet Company Profile

Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) is a multinational technology holding company headquartered in Mountain View, California. Formed in 2015 through a corporate restructuring of Google, Alphabet serves as the parent to Google LLC and a portfolio of businesses collectively known as “Other Bets.” Google was originally founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin; Alphabet is led by CEO Sundar Pichai, who oversees Google and the broader company while the founders remain prominent shareholders and influential figures in the company’s history.

Alphabet’s core business centers on internet search and advertising, with Google Search and the company’s ad platforms (including Google Ads and AdSense) generating the majority of revenue by connecting advertisers with consumers worldwide.